Drought Conditions Could Mean Trouble For Triangle

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DURHAM COUNTY, N.C. — The dry skies are on the verge of being serious trouble for area lakes. The Triangle is about to set a record for the driest April ever, and residents can expect to feel the impact at home.

Despite the drought, sales at Logan's Garden Shop are higher than they have been in five years.

"We've had a mild winter," said Logan's Garden Shop owner, Joshua Logan. "People have had the itch to be growing things."

But the growing problem for everyone is the long dry spell. One of the highest selling items at Logan's this spring is not a type of flower -- it is conservation tools, like rain barrels that connect to water spouts, catch rain water and store it for future use.

Army Corps of Engineers officer Tom Freeman said choosing conservation is the only way for local residents to get through the drought.

"We're breaking all the records," said Freeman. "The water is not coming down the streams. It's just not raining."

Levels at Falls Lake -- Raleigh's main source of water -- are dangerously low. Freeman said the area is at the point where a mix of poor government decisions and more dry weather could truly dry up the water that is left. To replenish the low levels, Freeman said the best solution would be rain around Durham, so water could flow through rivers and streams into the lake.